The college football postseason is kicking off this weekend and one of the earliest games on the schedule is sponsored by franchisor Famous Toastery.
The 25-unit, Charlotte-based brunch concept is making its year-end marketing push with the Famous Toastery Bowl, featuring the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers and the Virginia-based Old Dominion University Monarchs. The game, kicking off at 2:30 p.m. EST Monday, December 18, marks a major brand awareness effort for the emerging company.
Earlier this year, Famous Toastery was considering where to put its advertising budget and looked toward NASCAR because of its popularity in Charlotte, President Mike Sebazco said.
Famous Toastery President Mike Sebazco
“We had a couple of NASCAR folks who were interested,” Sebazco said. “The one who was the most interested was Michael McDowell, who’s been a fan of the brand for 10 years.”
McDowell became a brand partner and assisted with national exposure for the brand, which is trying to go beyond its regional footprint. Then, the personnel who helped connect Famous Toastery and McDowell informed brand leadership that a bowl game would be taking place in Charlotte, and organizers were looking for a sponsor.
For the past several years, a bowl game was held in the Bahamas. However, because of ongoing renovations to the stadium there, ESPN Events relocated the game to Charlotte for the 2023 season.
Upon learning about the opportunity, Sebazco met with Famous Toastery’s finance team and confirmed they could raise enough for the sponsorship.
“It’s a one-time thing and for a brand our size, we think it’s a worthwhile investment,” Sebazco said. “This is about building brand recognition. I hate the term ‘residual,’ but this is 100 percent a residual play. We want people to understand what Famous Toastery is. From our experience, when people get to know us, they end up loving us.”
Clint Overby, vice president of ESPN Events, touted the ability of bowl games as marketing vehicles for brands like Famous Toastery.
“It’s a pretty heavy megaphone,” Overby said. “The college football postseason is one of the most watched on ESPN’s air, so to have a title sponsorship of a game is effectively a three-and-a-half-hour commercial.”
In addition to the brand building notoriety, Overby said the bowl game will also drive business to the Charlotte market.
Vice President of ESPN Events Clint Overby
“There’s travel that comes with it and it comes during a time when travel to certain markets isn’t what it is the rest of the year,” Overby said. “So, we’re filling hotels, meeting spaces, purchasing food and beverage and doing all of those things because of a bowl. Like a convention, bowls bring a lot of people who use resources in those communities, and it’s pre-Christmas when there’s not as much going on.”
There will be plenty going on before and during the game for fans and the players, though. Before the game, Famous Toastery is bringing both teams to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte where they can meet McDowell. The brand is hosting a brunch the weekend before the bowl for game officials.
During the game, McDowell will do the coin toss and a NASCAR vehicle will be onsite for fans to see. The game is being held at Jerry Richardson Stadium on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and televised on ESPN.
Experts are expecting a good match-up in the game, with the 7-5 Hilltoppers representing Conference USA, while the 6-6 Monarchs enter the game from the Sun Belt Conference.
“These are teams that have a good regionality to Charlotte in general,” Overby said. “The storylines are that Western Kentucky has had incredible consistency in respect to its post-season and I think Old Dominion is trying to establish that.”
The Hilltoppers are making their 10th trip to a bowl game since 2012, while the Monarchs bounced back from a 3-9 campaign in 2022.
“Old Dominion has the nation’s leading tackler with Jason Henderson,” Sebazco said. “Then you have Western Kentucky which is averaging nearly 500 yards in offense. They’re strong at the running game and at quarterback. I’m really looking forward to that contrast in style. We have two teams that are going to be fun and endearing to the crowds. The stadium holds 15,000 and I think we will go above that.”